Vertical cabinet door with flush front face

ABSTRACT

A headwall for a patient&#39;s room includes a panel having a vertically-extending front surface, an opening defined in the front surface of the headwall, and a door sized to be received in the opening. The door is vertically movable from a first position where an outer face of the door is flush with the front surface of the panel to a second position where the outer face extends parallel to the front surface and the door is positioned behind the front surface.

This application is a continuation application that claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/861,204, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,375,646, which was filed on Aug. 23, 2010 and isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates headwalls for use in a healthcarefacility. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to aheadwall having a vertically sliding door to conceal devices for thedelivery of medical care or other areas that may be used for storage.

Clinical care settings, such as a hospital room, for example, serve atwo-fold purpose of delivering healthcare services. In the firstinstance, the hospital room serves as an area for delivery of medicalcare. In the second instance, the hospital room serves as a residencefor a recuperating patient.

With regard to the delivery of medical care services, the hospital roommust include state of the art technology accessible to the healthcareprovider during the delivery of care. As the acuity of a patient'sillness or injury increases, the complexity of additional equipmentrequired to assist with the delivery of care increases. The vital signsof a patient are taken on a regular basis. In a critical care/intensivecare unit, other monitoring equipment and service delivery equipment isrequired. For example, vital signs monitoring may be required inconjunction with ventilation equipment. Generally, the support for theequipment is positioned at the head end of the bed in an architecturalheadwall unit. For example, gases such as oxygen and compressed air maybe delivered to the patient room. A vacuum line may also be provided.Electrical service outlets may also be provided with certain devicesbeing connected to power circuits including emergency back-up forcritical devices. The architectural headwall units may also providecentral lighting controls and may be configured to provide support forhealthcare equipment such as monitoring devices and fluid collectioncanisters.

The delivery of gases and power and the support of healthcare equipmenttend to cause the headwall area of a patient room to appear moreclinically oriented than residential. In order to provide a moreaesthetically pleasing environment for recuperation, hospitals are knownto utilize structures within the room constructed employing wood grainsand configured with gas and electrical outlets.

SUMMARY

The present invention comprises an apparatus and/or method that has anyone or more of the features listed in the appended claims and/or any oneor more of the following features, which alone or in any combination maycomprise patentable subject matter:

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a headwall for apatient's room is disclosed. The headwall includes a panel having avertically-extending front surface, an opening defined in the frontsurface of the headwall, and a door sized to be received in the opening.The door is vertically movable from a first position where an outer faceof the door is flush with the front surface of the panel to a secondposition where the outer face extends parallel to the front surface andthe door is positioned behind the front surface. In some embodiments,the door may be vertically movable to a third position verticallypositioned between the first position and the second position and wherethe door may extend at an angle relative to the front surface of theheadwall. In some embodiments, the door may be located above the openingwhen placed in the second position.

In some embodiments, the headwall may further include a first set ofroller bearings coupled to an upper end of the door and a second set ofroller bearings coupled to the door below the first set of rollerbearings, and a first set of guide slots sized to receive the first setof roller bearings and a second set of guide slots sized to receive thesecond set of roller bearings. The second set of guide slots may bepartially positioned behind the first set of guide slots. Additionally,in some embodiments, each guide slot of the first set of guide slots andeach guide slot of the second set of guide slots may include a straightsection positioned behind, and extending parallel to, the front surfaceof the headwall and a curved section. In some embodiments, the curvedsection of each guide slot of the second set of guide slots may be anS-shaped section.

In some embodiments, the door may include an upper surface extending ata non-orthogonal angle relative to the outer face of the door. In someembodiments, the headwall may include a counterbalance coupled to thedoor sized to maintain the door at each of the first position and thesecond position. In some embodiments, the counterbalance may be aconstant force spring extending parallel to the front surface of theheadwall.

In some embodiments, the headwall may further include a utility trunkhaving a passageway defined therein. The passageway may be inaccessiblewhen the door is placed in the first position and accessible through theopening defined in the front surface of the headwall when the door isplaced in the second position. In some embodiments, the door may belocated within the passageway when placed in the second position.

According to another aspect, a headwall for a patient's room isdisclosed. The headwall includes a front panel having avertically-extending surface having an opening defined therein, acabinet secured to the front panel and having a storage chamber definedtherein, and a door sized to be received in the opening. The door ismovable between a first position where the storage chamber isinaccessible and an outer face of the door is flush with thevertically-extending surface and a second position where the storagechamber is accessible through the opening and the outer face of the doorextends parallel to the vertically-extending surface. In someembodiments, the door may be located behind the front panel and abovethe opening when placed in the second position.

In some embodiments, the headwall may further include a first rollerbearing coupled to an upper end of the door and a second roller bearingcoupled to the door below the first roller bearing. A first guide slotmay be defined in a first support and may be sized to receive the firstroller bearing. A second guide slot may be defined in the first supportand may be sized to receive the second roller bearing. The second guideslot may be partially positioned behind the first guide slot.Additionally, in some embodiments, the first guide slot and the secondguide slot may include a straight section positioned behind the frontpanel and extending parallel to the vertically-extending surface and acurved section.

In some embodiments, the curved section of the second guide slot may bean S-shaped section. In some embodiments, the headwall may furtherinclude a constant force spring extending parallel to thevertically-extending surface of the front panel and coupled to the door.The constant force spring may be sized to counterbalance the door suchthat the door is maintained at each of the first position and the secondposition.

According to another aspect, a headwall for a patient's room includes apanel having a vertically-extending surface, a plurality of openingsdefined in the vertically-extending surface of the panel, and aplurality of doors. Each door is vertically movable from a firstposition where the door is received in the opening and an outer face ofthe door is flush with the vertically-extending surface of the panel toa second position where the door is positioned behind the panel andabove the opening. In some embodiments, the headwall may further includea plurality of constant force springs extending parallel to thevertically-extending surface of the panel. Each constant force springmay be coupled to a separate door of the plurality of doors. Theconstant force spring may be sized to counterbalance the door such thatthe door is maintained at each of the first position and the secondposition.

In some embodiments, the outer face of each door may extend parallel tothe vertically-extending surface of the panel when the door is placed inthe second position. Additional features will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode aspresently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figuresin which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient room in a hospital showing aheadwall including a number of doors of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a patient room in a hospital showing thedoors of the FIG. 1 in various positions;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation cutaway view of back side of the headwall ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the headwall of FIG.1 showing one of the doors in a closed position;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the headwall of FIG.1 showing one of the doors in partially opened position; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the headwall of FIG.1 showing one of the doors in a fully opened positioned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary embodimentsthereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and willherein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, thatthere is no intent to limit the concepts of the present disclosure tothe particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, a patient room 10 of a hospital or other medicalcare facility, such as a nursing home, is shown. A headwall 12 is shownpositioned at a wall 14, but it should be appreciated that in otherembodiments the headwall 12 may be positioned at any of the walls of theroom 10. Headwalls are sometimes referred to as headwall units, but areherein simply referred to as headwalls. The headwall 12 may be formed asa single unit or as a plurality of modular units. One example of amodular headwall is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2010/0095604 entitled “Modular Architectural Room System,” which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

The headwall 12 includes a plurality of panels 16 that conceal gaspressure lines, vacuum hoses, electrical wiring, storage chambers, andother support for utilities positioned behind the headwall 12. Anurse-call unit 18, a plurality of outlets 20, and other equipment areshown mounted to the headwall 12 in the illustrative example, but theseare simply optional components and may not be present in otherembodiments. Furthermore, other types of equipment may be mounted to, orincluded in, headwall 12 as is known in the art. As shown in FIG. 1,each of the panels 16 defines a vertically-extending front surface 22.It will be appreciated that in other embodiments the headwall 12 mayinclude additional panels, which are placed adjacent to each other todefine the front surfaces 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, the headwall 12 includes a utility trunk 30 and acabinet 32 secured to the panel 16. The utility trunk 30 defines apassageway 34 that extends between the headwall 12 and the wall 14. Thepassageway 34 includes an opening 36 formed in the front surface 22 ofone of the panels 16. The opening 36 permits the patient, caregiver, orother individuals to access the gas pressure lines, vacuum hoses,electrical wiring, and other support for utilities positioned within thepassageway 34. Similarly, the cabinet 32 defines a storage chamber 40and includes an opening 42 formed in the front surface 22 of one of thepanels 16. The opening 42 permits the patient, caregiver, or otherindividuals to access the storage chamber 40. It will be appreciatedthat in other embodiments the headwall may include additional utilitytrunks, cabinets, and other storage areas.

A door 44 is associated with each of the openings 36, 42 and isvertically movable between an open position and a closed position. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the passageway 34 is inaccessible through theopening 36 when the door 44 is in a closed position (see FIG. 1) and isaccessible when, for example, the door 44 is in an open position (seeFIG. 2). Similarly, the storage chamber 40 is inaccessible through theopening 42 when another door 44 is in a closed position (see FIG. 1) andis accessible when the door 44 is in an open position (see FIG. 2).

Each door 44 includes a rigid body 50 having an outer face 52 extendingfrom an upper end 54 to a lower end 56. The door 44 includes a handle 58that may be used to open and close the door 44. When the door 44 isclosed, the outer face 52 is flush with the vertically-extending frontsurface 22 of the panel 16. The term “flush” is defined herein asforming a single continuous plane. This is distinguishable from, and, incontrast to, having one surface recessed behind or below another surfacebecause the recessed surface does not form a single continuous planewith the non-recessed surface. As shown in FIG. 1, the outer face 52 ofthe door 44 and the front surface 22 of the panel 16 form a singlecontinuous plane when the door 44 is closed. When the door 44 is movedto an open position, the door 44 is positioned behind the panel 16, asshown in FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the back side 60 of the headwall 12 is shownwith one of the doors 44 placed in the closed position. The headwall 12includes a frame 62 having a pair of support columns 64 supporting aheader 66. The door 44 is positioned between the support columns 64, andthe rear face 68 of the door 44 has a plurality of roller mounts 70secured thereto. Each roller mount 70 includes a body 72 having a pairof flanges 74 extending outwardly therefrom. Each flange 74 has a numberof fasteners 76 extending therethrough to secure the roller mount 70 tothe rear face 68 of the door 44. Each roller mount 70 also includes apin 78 extending outwardly from the body 72. A roller bearing 80 ismounted to each pin 78 and is configured to rotate about a horizontalaxis.

As shown in FIGS. 3-6, each support column 64 includes a pair of guideslots 82, 84, and each roller bearing 80 is received in a correspondingone of the slots 82, 84. It should be appreciated that the guide slots82, 84 formed in one column 64 are mirror images of the guide slots 82,84 formed in the other column 64. As best seen in FIGS. 46, a rollerbearing 86 is secured to the door 44 at the upper end 54 and is receivedin one of the slots 82 formed in the column 64. Each slot 82 includes asubstantially-straight upper section 88 and a curved lower section 90.The upper section 88 is positioned behind the panel 16 and extendsparallel to the front surface 22 of the panel 16, as shown in FIG. 4.The lower section 90 of the slot 82 is connected to the upper section 88at an upper end 92 and extends downwardly to a lower end 94. When thedoor 44 is fully closed, the roller bearing 86 is positioned at thelower end 94 of the slot 82.

A roller bearing 96 is secured to the door 44 below the roller bearing86 and is received in one of the slots 84. As best seen in FIG. 4, theroller bearing 86 is positioned closer to the rear face 68 of the door44 than the roller bearing 96. Similar to each slot 82, each slot 84includes a substantially-straight upper section 98 and a curved lowersection 100. The upper section 98 of the slot 84 is positioned behindthe panel 16 and the upper section 88 of the slot 82. As best seen inFIG. 4, the upper section 98 of the slot 84 also extends parallel to thefront surface 22 of the panel 16. The lower section 100 of the slot 84is connected to the upper section 98 at an upper end 102 and extendsdownwardly to a lower end 104. As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the lower section100 of the slot 84 follows an S-shaped path from the upper end 102 tothe lower end 104. When the door 44 is fully closed, the roller bearing96 is positioned at the lower end 104 of the slot 84. As will bedescribed in greater detail below, the roller bearings 86, 96 areadvanced along the guide slots 82, 84 as the door 44 is moved betweenthe open and closed positions.

Returning to FIG. 2, the headwall 12 includes a counterbalancing device110 sized to maintain the door 44 at any position relative to theopening 42. In that way, the door 44 may be maintained at any position,without drifting up or down, until the patient, caregiver, or otherindividual applies an external force to the handle 58. In theillustrative embodiment, the counterbalancing device 110 is a springmechanism 112. In other embodiments, the counterbalancing device 110 maybe a system of counterweights and pulleys configured to balance theweight of the door 44 at any position until an external force isapplied.

The spring mechanism 112 includes a base 114 and a constant force spring116 that is sized to counterbalance the weight of the door 44 at anyposition. One example of a constant force spring is the Conforce®Constant Force Spring, which is commercially available from VulcanSpring & Mfg. Co. of Telford, Pa. The spring 116 includes a body 118that is coupled at one end (not shown) to a spool 120 mounted on thebase 114. The other end 122 of the spring 116 is secured to the upperend 54 of the door 44 via a number of fasteners 124. When the door 44 isclosed, the body 118 of the spring 116 extends parallel to the surface22 of the panel 16.

The base 114 of the spring mechanism 112 has a pair of mounting legs126, 128. The mounting legs 126, 128 are secured to the header 66 via anumber of fasteners 130. The base 114 also includes a cylindrical bar132 extending from one mounting leg 126 to the other mounting leg 128.The spool 120 is positioned over the bar 132 and is configured to rotateabout a horizontal axis. As the door 44 is moved from the closedposition to the open position, the spool 120 is rotated and the body 118of the spring 116 is wound around the spool 120 as the door 44 is movedtoward the header 66. When the door is moved from the open position tothe closed position, the body 118 of the spring 116 unwinds from thespool 120.

The path of the door 44 as the door 44 is moved from the closed positionto the open position is best seen in FIGS. 46. When the door 44 isclosed, as shown in FIG. 4, the outer face 52 of the door 44 is flushwith the vertically-extending front surface 22 of the panel 16. Asdescribed above, each of roller bearings 86, 96 are positioned at thelower ends 94, 104 of their respective slots 82, 84. When an externalforce is applied in the direction indicated by arrow 134, the door 44 ismoved upward and the roller bearings 86, 96 are advanced along theirrespective slots 82, 84.

As the door 44 is moved upward, the varying curvature of the lowersections 90, 100 causes the lower end 56 of the door 44 to pitch outwardand the upper end 54 of the door 44 is pitched inward. In illustrativeembodiment, the upper surface 136 of the door 44 extends at anon-orthogonal angle relative to the outer face 52 of the door 44,thereby ensuring that the upper end 54 of the door 44 avoids contactwith a lower edge 138 of the panel 16. As shown in FIG. 5, the door 44may be moved to an intermediate position between the fully open andfully closed position. In that intermediate position, the roller bearing86 is positioned at the upper end 92 of the lower section 90 of the slot82, and the outer face 52 of the door 44 is angled relative to the frontsurface 22 of the panel 16.

When the door 44 is moved upward beyond the intermediate position, thepitch of the door 44 changes such that the outer face 52 is not angledrelative to the front surface 22. As shown in FIG. 6, when the rollerbearings 86, 96 are positioned in the upper sections 88, 98 of the slots82, 84, the outer face 52 extends parallel to the front surface 22. Inthe fully open position shown in FIG. 6, the door 44 is positionedbehind the panel 16 in the passageway 34 or the storage chamber 40 ofthe headwall 12. The door 44 is also located above the opening 42 suchthat the patient, caregiver, or any other individual is permitted toaccess to the passageway 34 or the storage chamber 40.

As will be appreciated by those of the skill in the art, the headwall 12may include elements other than those shown and described above. Inanother embodiment, the headwall 12 may have two or morecounterbalancing devices 110 per door 44. For example, each door 44 mayinclude two constant force springs 116 sized to balance the weight ofthe door 44 at any position until an external force. It will also beappreciated that the counterbalancing device 110 may take other formsand may be embodied as an electric linear actuator that will raise orlower the door 44. The linear actuator may be controlled by the userthrough the use of a push button mounted to the panel 16 adjacent to thecorresponding door 44.

Although certain illustrative embodiments have been described in detailabove, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit ofthis disclosure as described and as defined in the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A storage unit comprising a panel having avertically-extending front surface, an opening defined in the frontsurface of the storage unit, a door sized to be received in the opening,a first set of roller bearings coupled to an upper end of the door and asecond set of roller bearings coupled to the door below the first set ofroller bearings, and a first set of guide slots sized to receive thefirst set of roller bearings and a second set of guide slots sized toreceive the second set of roller bearings, the second set of guide slotsbeing partially positioned behind the first set of guide slots, whereinthe door is vertically movable from (i) a first position where an outerface of the door is flush with the front surface of the panel to (ii) asecond position where the outer face extends parallel to the frontsurface and the door is positioned behind the front surface.
 2. Thestorage unit of claim 1, wherein the door is vertically movable to athird position vertically positioned between the first position and thesecond position and where the door extends at an angle relative to thefront surface of the storage unit.
 3. The storage unit of claim 2,wherein the door is located above the opening when placed in the secondposition.
 4. The storage unit of claim 1, wherein each guide slot of thefirst set of guide slots and each guide slot of the second set of guideslots includes (i) a straight section positioned behind, and extendingparallel to, the front surface of the storage unit and (ii) a curvedsection.
 5. The storage unit of claim 4, wherein the curved section ofeach guide slot of the second set of guide slots is an S-shaped section.6. The storage unit of claim 1, wherein the door includes an uppersurface extending at a non-orthogonal angle relative to the outer faceof the door.
 7. The storage unit of claim 1, further comprising acounterbalance coupled to the door sized to maintain the door at each ofthe first position and the second position.
 8. The storage unit of claim7, wherein the counterbalance is a constant force spring extendingparallel to the front surface of the storage unit.
 9. The storage unitof claim 1, further comprising a utility trunk having a passagewaydefined therein, the passageway being (i) inaccessible when the door isplaced in the first position and (ii) accessible through the openingdefined in the front surface of the storage unit when the door is placedin the second position.
 10. The storage unit of claim 9, wherein thedoor is located within the passageway when placed in the secondposition.
 11. A storage unit for a patient's room comprising a frontpanel including a vertically-extending surface having an opening definedtherein, a cabinet secured to the front panel and having a storagechamber defined therein, and a door sized to be received in the opening,and a constant force spring extending parallel to thevertically-extending surface of the front panel and coupled to the door,wherein the door is movable between (i) a first position where thestorage chamber is inaccessible and an outer face of the door is flushwith the vertically-extending surface and (ii) a second position wherethe storage chamber is accessible through the opening and the outer faceof the door extends parallel to the vertically-extending surface, andwherein the constant force spring is sized to counterbalance the doorsuch that the door is maintained at each of the first position and thesecond position.
 12. The storage unit of claim 11, wherein the door islocated behind the front panel and above the opening when placed in thesecond position.
 13. The storage unit of claim 11, further comprising afirst roller bearing coupled to an upper end of the door, a secondroller bearing coupled to the door below the first roller bearing, afirst guide slot defined in a first support sized to receive the firstroller bearing, and a second guide slot defined in the first supportsized to receive the second roller bearing, the second guide slot beingpartially positioned behind the first guide slot.
 14. The storage unitof claim 13, wherein the first guide slot and the second guide slotincludes (i) a straight section positioned behind the front panel andextending parallel to the vertically-extending surface and (ii) a curvedsection.
 15. The storage unit of claim 14, wherein the curved section ofthe second guide slot is an S-shaped section.
 16. A storage unit for apatient's room comprising a panel including a vertically-extendingsurface, a plurality of openings defined in the vertically-extendingsurface of the panel, a plurality of doors, a first set of rollerbearings coupled to an upper end of each door and a second set of rollerbearings coupled to each door below the first set of roller bearings,and a first set of guide slots sized to receive each first set of rollerbearings and a second set of guide slots sized to receive each secondset of roller bearings, each second set of guide slots being partiallypositioned behind each first set of guide slots, each door beingvertically movable from (i) a first position where the door is receivedin one opening and an outer face of the door is flush with thevertically-extending surface of the panel to (ii) a second positionwhere the door is positioned behind the panel and above the one opening,wherein the outer face of each door extends parallel to thevertically-extending surface of the panel when the door is placed in thesecond position.
 17. The storage unit of claim 16, wherein furthercomprising a plurality of constant force springs extending parallel tothe vertically-extending surface of the panel, each constant forcespring being coupled to a separate door of the plurality of doors, theconstant force spring being sized to counterbalance the door such thatthe door is maintained at each of the first position and the secondposition.
 18. The storage unit of claim 16, wherein the storage unit isa headwall for a patient's room.